Frankum v. Hensley

884 S.W.2d 688, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 1473, 1994 WL 507009
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 14, 1994
DocketNo. 19392
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 884 S.W.2d 688 (Frankum v. Hensley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frankum v. Hensley, 884 S.W.2d 688, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 1473, 1994 WL 507009 (Mo. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

CROW, Judge.

Andrew A. Frankum (“Frankum”) appeals from a judgment in a garnishment proceeding enforcing a hospital lien asserted by Missouri Delta Medical Center (“Medical Center”) against $25,000 of insurance proceeds in the registry of the trial court. The pertinent facts are undisputed.

Frankum was hospitalized at Medical Center after being injured in a two-vehicle accident. He sued Henry Hensley (“Hensley”), the driver of the other vehicle, and won a $300,000 judgment.

At Frankum’s instance, a garnishment was issued to Mid-Century Insurance Company (“Garnishee”), Hensley’s liability insurance carrier. Medical Center requested, and received, leave to intervene, maintaining it was entitled to a lien on any insurance proceeds received from Garnishee in satisfaction of Frahkum’s judgment.

Garnishee acknowledged coverage of $25,-000 and paid that sum into court.

The trial court heard evidence and found: (a) Frankum incurred $533 in litigation expense, and (b) his attorney’s fee was one-third of the net recovery. The trial court deducted those sums ($533 and $8155.66) from the $25,000 insurance proceeds, leaving $16,311.34. The trial court divided that sum equally between Medical Center and Fran-kum, awarding each $8155.67.

Frankum brings this appeal from that judgment. The first of his two points relied on reads:

“The trial court erred in entering judgment for ... Medical Center on its hospital lien claim because there was no evidence that the charges made by the hospital were for necessary x-ray, laboratory, operating room and medication services rendered to ... Frankum on account of injuries sustained in the motor vehicle accident. Since the hospital offered no evidence that its charges were for necessary services as required for an effective lien under both sections 430.230 and 430.235, ... the hospital failed to meet its burden of proof on an essential element of its hospital lien claim.”

Mary E. Johnson, Medical Center’s director of patients’ accounts, was the lone witness in the trial court. She identified a multi-page exhibit as Medical Center’s itemized bill for Frankum’s care and treatment. The bill totaled $18,495. Payments from an “insurance source” had reduced the unpaid balance to $16,866.95. Ms. Johnson explained that besides that debt, there were ambulance charges totaling $546.95, against which nothing had been paid.

Ms. Johnson testified without objection that the charges itemized on the bills were fair and reasonable, and were the customary charges by Medical Center for such services. On cross-examination, she conceded she was not involved in patient care, hence she never determined the care a patient should receive. Cross-examination continued:

“Q. And with regard to Mr. Frankum, you don’t make any testimony today about what care was necessary for him or what injuries he even had, do you? You don’t know anything about that aspect of this case, do you?
A Other than the fact that he was injured and brought to our hospital and treated.
Q. But the particular injuries that he had or what particular treatment may have been necessary in his case, that’s something that’s not within your expertise?
A. I can tell you what his admitting diagnoses was [sic] because that’s a part of our records.
[690]*690Q. Well, my question is, it may be a part of your records, but I’m asking is that your expertise isn’t something in that field, is it?
A. No, sir.”

When Medical Center offered the bills in evidence, Frankum objected “on the basis of lack of foundation.” The trial court received the bills in evidence over that objection.

Frankum’s first point (quoted earlier) identifies two statutes, §§ 430.230 and 430.235, RSMo 1986. Each authorizes a lien of the type asserted by Medical Center. However, the statutes differ in some respects, one of which is that § 430.230 limits the lien for “treatment, care or maintenance” to “the cost of such services, computed at reasonable rates not to exceed twenty-five dollars per day and the reasonable cost of necessary X-ray, laboratory, operating room and medication service.” The other statute, § 430.235, has no specific dollar limit.

As explained infra, we infer Medical Center did not seek its lien under § 430.230, but instead under § 430.235, which reads:

“Notwithstanding the provisions of section 430.230, every public hospital ... and every privately maintained hospital ... which is supported in whole or in part by charity, located within the state of Missouri, or any such hospital duly incorporated under the laws of Missouri providing for the incorporation of eleemosynary institutions, shall have a lien upon any and all claims, counterclaims, demands, suits, or rights of action of any person admitted to any hospital ... and receiving treatment, care or maintenance therein for any cause including any personal injury sustained by such person as the result of the negligence or wrongful act of another, which such injured person may have, assert or maintain against the person ... causing such injury for damages on account of such injury, for the cost of such services, computed at reasonable rates not to exceed the customary charges for the services and the customary charges for necessary X-ray, laboratory, operating room and medication services as such hospital ... shall render such injured person on account of his conditions. The lien set forth in this section shall not be applied or considered valid against anyone coming under the workers’ compensation law in this state. The hen set forth in this section shall be considered valid and may be applied against medical benefits paid anyone under the provisions of chapter 208, RSMo, whether such benefits are paid from state or federal funds, or a combination thereof.”

Because Frankum was hospitalized at Medical Center only seven days, yet Medical Center nonetheless claimed a hen on half the money due Frankum (see § 430.250, RSMo 1986), we assume Medical Center sought to invoke § 430.235 (quoted above), thereby avoiding the $25-per-day provision in § 430.230. Our assumption is strengthened by Medical Center’s brief, which discusses only § 430.235, not § 430.230.

As we understand Frankum’s brief, he maintains Medical Center failed to prove it was entitled to a hen under either § 430.230 or § 430.235 in that its proof did not estabhsh that the services itemized in its bill were for “necessary services rendered on account of [Frankum’s] injuries.” Frankum argues, “The hospital hen statues clearly provide that necessity of the services billed for is an essential element of the hospital’s hen claim.”

Frankum does not challenge the trial court’s calculation of Medical Center’s hen, nor does he question the applicability of § 430.235. His sole theory of error under his first point, as we grasp it, is, in his words:

“[Medical Center] failed to meet its burden of proof because there was no evidence that any treatment for which the charges were made was necessary. Since necessity of the treatment is a statutorily required element for the estabhshment of a hospital hen, [Medical Center’s] hen claim must fail when that proof is lacking.”

Frankum cites Spica, v. McDonald 334 S.W.2d 365

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Bluebook (online)
884 S.W.2d 688, 1994 Mo. App. LEXIS 1473, 1994 WL 507009, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frankum-v-hensley-moctapp-1994.